This particular card was a M/C and was a DR card v. a Credit Card, so it obviously was tied directly to her bank account. All that I have read in the last hour tells me there is not much difference, if any, between DR & CR (credit card) cards as far as actual liability for the card-holder is concerned. Basically, since fraud is involved, the card-holder is not liable for any of the fraudulent purchases/charges.
2 questions, please. . .
1. Does anyone know if "protection" sites/programs like Master Card's Identity Theft Alert sites are worthwhile? Or have experience with such sites - whether free or not?
Per the M/C site:
https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/consumers/features-benefits/safety-and-security.html
Monitors thousands of websites, chat rooms, forums and networks, and alerts you if your personal information is being bought or sold online.
Master Card IDENTITY THEFT ALERTS
ITEMS WE MONITOR:
- Bank Account
- Credit/Debit Cards
- Email Addresses
- Phone Numbers
- Medical ID Number
- Social Security Number
- Driver's License
- Passport Number
https://www.mastercardidtheftalerts.com/identity-theft-alerts
2. Have you been the victim of credit card/credit fraud or identity theft?
Unfortunately, the answer for me is YES -- and more than once over the last 30+ years.
The first time I was a victim of fraud was during college in the 1980's while working for E. I. DuPont as an intern under Drexel University's Cooperative Education Program (co-op/ intern).
Parking at DuPont's Wilmington, DE, HQ was a nightmare and very expensive. In 1985, monthly parking costs averaged >$150/month (~$400 in 2015 dollars). I parked about 1-2 blocks away and often had to leave my car keys with the lot attendant so they could move cars around to accommodate everyone. No problems or incidents for years until one day at ~4:15 pm, I get a call from a department store asking if I gave permission for a young male to use my credit card to purchase several thousands of dollars of jewelry. I of course said "No" -- and the chase was on.
I quickly realized that my wallet was missing and so were the 37 (no joke or exaggeration) credit cards it contained. Turns out I had left it in the car; several cars were vandalized/burglarized, including mine, that day during lunch.
Back then, credit card-holders were generally liable for the first $50 on each card, a potential $1,850 hit for me. I ended up suing the parking lot since they had possession of my car keys and therefore had possession of the interior of the car (very important point in the court case). Parking customers of this specific lot had no choice whether to leave car keys with the lot attendant - you had to. Period.
Later that evening, Delaware State Police caught the several teens (all under 18) involved in the theft and use of my credit cards. A DE State Police Corporal read me the riot act about having so many credit cards at my young age, to which I [politely :0] told him that it was none of his business, regardless of the fact that I was in my early 20s then (which he focused on for some reason). The teens had charged over $10,000 ($22,000 in 2015 dollars) to my credit cards in less than 6 hours. Not bad for a few hours work. There were no Debit Cards in existence back then as far as I recall.
The last time for me - several years ago when my identity was stolen. A huge mess that ended up with a visit by Homeland Security Agents because several plane tickets for one-way trips going from the Dominican Republic to Newark, NJ to Providence, RI, were charged to my American Express cards; a relative of one of the named passengers was on a terrorism watch list.
All I can say to you younger kids -- be careful with your credit cards and vigilant with your overall credit.
There were other episodes besides the two I mentioned above.
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